The expansion of the Speech and Debate club into an elective is giving students the opportunity to work with others while expanding their skills. 

“Public speaking is my bread and butter … a staple of my life since I started competing back in 2007 at Advanced Technologies Academy,” teacher and Adviser Henry Evans  said. “Teaching this course comes naturally and I’m happy to see our family grow.”

Despite the anticipated challenges Evans expected in getting the elective approved, he surprisingly had no difficulties with administration agreeing to offer the class for the 2024 school year.

“I came prepared with a syllabus and some research, anecdotal and empirical in support of my cause,” Evans said. “I had a meeting with our principal, Principle Donna Levy, and within a few minutes she said, ‘yes no problem’. It was that easy. I’m grateful for her immediate and unconditional support.” 

S&D board members still hold their club leadership positions within the class, but the class is seen as a whole, where members of the club and non-members can freely communicate their needs.

“I make an executive decision if there needs to be,” S&D Co-President Angeline Roldan said. “It’s kind of like an extension of the board in a way because everyone in the class is working to help get our meeting set up, having to do this or that for whatever we need to have done.”

With more time at their disposal, students are able to be creative, and practice and perfect their speeches in the comfort of a class elective.

“I feel ecstatic. I’ve been working toward this moment since I started this club back in 2017,” Evans said.  “Having instructional time for students to work on speeches and debate cases that are often more complex than what they’re assigned in their core classes is immensely helpful. Quite frankly, the entire experience necessitates a class.”

The class allows students to work effectively and efficiently at a comfortable pace, helping them to not feel stressed or pressured when preparing for competitions.  

“Everyone is required to compete once per semester to get the full grade. But, the actual assignments in the class aren’t pressuring,” sophomore Jessica Dawoud said. “We’re basically expected to show the work we did at the end of the week to show that we contributed both towards the club and class. It’s actually my least stressful class because I’m able to work at my own pace.”

The Shadow and Angel competition was held on September 22 and 23. The class provided the time for varsity, junior and novice members to feel ready to compete. 

“The class overall just helped me have time to refresh myself on the standards, again to just get everybody’s feedback,” Captain of Congressional Debate Carmen Ruiz said. “The feedback helped me feel the most prepared for the competition that I’ve been prepared for any other one.”